I’d only seen the musical on stage once before, in Vienna, with Austrian actors singing English songs. The heavy German accents weren’t pretty, although I loved the dancing.

I liked the “radio playing” before the performance, with Vince Fontaine and ads and such. A lovely idea to put the audience into the mood for the time the musical is set in. Great music, too. This also goes for the live orchestra – above the stage – which was amazing, and the conductor was good fun as well. However, the music was too loud, drowning out the singing at times, e.g. for “Hopelessly Devoted” and the loudspeakers gave the music a tinny sound when it was too loud.

I was less enamoured of the huge sign hanging above the stage, with the Grease logo glowing bright enough to blind the dress circle once the lights went out. The lighting itself was fine, although it wasn’t overly original – well put together nevertheless. There were few gobos as far as I could see.

I especially liked the sets: Marty’s bedroom, the Burger Palace diner, and the Bleachers were huge roll-on props, with little detail, which was nice for not detracting from the performers. The set was most elaborate in the prom scene, most of the time it remained functional and bare. I liked that particularly, as it shows that you just don’t need a fancy set, providing you have a good cast.

Overture: “Grease is the word” was very lively.

Danny (Ben Richards) sure was a looker, ready for modelling. He was also very convincing, had a fantastic voice, and the forced laughter when he tried to act cool in front of the guys was as compelling as his enthusiastic reaction to seeing Sandy again.
He did enjoy the drive-in “Stranded/Sandy” too much, I don’t really think Danny should be grinning, for all the adoring women in the audience. I liked the acting in this scene a lot though; Danny tried to keep himself from groping Sandy, even though their kiss was pretty hot – ever the gentleman there ;D.

Sandy (Joanne Farrell) was grand – smooth, slightly deeper voice, a very laid-back girl. She moved sparingly, no hip swing, no exaggerated gestures, giving the impression of Sandy at her most pure, most boring with ease, although there was a touch of insecurity to be seen as well. “You’re the One that I Want” was a crescendo after that, where Sandy’s every movement was slinky and sexy – enthralling change, fantastic interpretation.

Richard Taylor Wood’s Kenickie was cute and had a good voice, although he came short too short of Danny – he was less of a leader, marginalized by Danny’s stage presence.

Hanna Waddingham’s Rizzo was the best for this part; she’s an attractive woman, but it was her every gesture, her mimic that truly made the character come to live for me. “There are worse things” is already one of my favourite songs and the way she sung it was simply breathtaking. Rizzo was a bombshell, openly mean to Sandy, a born leader (both of the Pink Ladies and the guys), who seemed to feel her status was being threatened by Sandy. Wow.

My favourite characters are Roger and Jan and I wasn’t disappointed – both were brilliant. Daniel Boys was cute, clueless, and a great singer; Lorraine Graham had a gorgeous voice and pushed Roger about like a pro. “Mooning” as a real highlight, they were so good together, chemistry, sparks, and all.

The rest of the cast were excellent as well, I particularly remember Frenchy (Tanya Caridia) fondly. Teen Angel/Vince (Paul Burnham) was good, but not exactly my thing – his performance was flawless and his voice and intonation were good. I don’t know what I felt was missing, but there was something.

I saw Rachael Crocker as Crystal C (she was in the Stuttgart version of CATS) – she was the best dancer in an already great cast – she excelled in grace, execution, and timing.

The choreography was very nice, I loved the bit where Crystal C and another girl danced with their chairs before the prom, as well as “We Go Together”, which was wonderfully spirited. “Greased Lighting” was great, with a car being rolled onstage that had two sides – the old, peeling red paint and the other silver and light-studded. They turned it around in the middle of the song, which was neat and practical.

“Those Magic Changes” was great fun – the guys dancing in their towels with scrub brushes as they emerged from the shower cabins as background choir … priceless.

Grease has always been a musical that just makes me feel good and this production was no exception – truly wonderfully done, with a great cast.